CHAPTER L
on —
No Place for Sentiment.
Silence pervaded the dim old aisles
of the Market Square church; the win-
ter sun, streaming through the clere- |
story windows, cast, on the floor and |
on the vacant benches, patches of |
ruby and sapphire, of emerald and of
topaz, these seeming only to accentu-
ate the dimness and the silence.
In that silence the vestry door
creaked, it opened wide, and It was
as if a vision had suddenly been set
there! Bathed in the golden light
from the transept window, brown-|
haired, brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked, |
stood a girl who might have been one |
of the slender stained-glass virgins
come to life, the golden light flaming |
the edges of her hair into an aureole. |
She stood timidly, peering into the
dimness, and on her beautifully |
curved lips was a half questioning |
smile.
“Uncle Jim,” she called, and there
was some quality in her low voice!
which was strangely attractive, and
disturbing.
“By George, Gail, 1 forgot that you
were to come for me!” said Jim Sar
gent, rising from amid the group of!
men in the dim transept. “We'll be
through in a few minutes. Allison,
you were about to prove something to
us, I think.”
“Prove is the right word,” agreed
the stockily built man who had evi
dently been addressing the vestry. He
was acutely conscious of the presence
of Gail, as they all were. “Your rec-
tor suggests that this is a matter of
sentiment You are anxious to have
fifty million dollars to begin the erec
tion of a cathedral: but I came here |
to talk business, and that only. Grant- |
ing you the full normal appreciation }
of your Vedder Court property, and |
the normal increase of your aggregate
rentals, you cannot haye, at the end
of ten years, a penny over forty-two ;
millions. I em prepared to offer you, |
in cash, a sum which will, at three
and a half per cent, and in ten years,
produce that exact amount. To this
I add two million.”
“How much did you allow for in
crease in the value of the property?”
asked Nicholas Van Ploon, whose only
knowledge for several generations had
been centered on this
The original Van Ploon had bought a
vast tract of Manhattan a dollar
an acre, and, by that stroke of tower
ing genius, placed family
Van Ploon, for all eternity, beyond
necessity of thought.
For answer, Allison passed him
envelope upon which he had been
uring, checking off an item as he
80. He
twitched
one question
for
had the of
the
the
fig-
did
lips
She |
the
noticed that Gail's
with suppressed mirth,
turned abruptly to look back at
window, and the
in the rear pew im-
mediately sat straighter. Willis Cun- |
ningham, who was a bachelor, hastily
smoothed his Vandyke., He
rich, by inheritance, that
meant nothing to him.
“Not enough,” grunted Van Ploon, |
handing back the envelope and twist |
ing again in the general direction of
Gail
“Ample,” retorted Allison. “You |
can’t count anything for the buildings. |
While I don’t deny that they yield the
richest income of any property
the city, they are the most
tenements in New York. They'll fall
down in less than ten years
have them propped up now.”
Jim Sargent glanced solicitously at
Gall, but she did not seem to be bored;
not a particle!
“They are passed by
inspector annually,” pompously stated
W. T. Chisholm, his mutton chops
turning pink from the reddening of |
the skin beneath. He had spent al
lifetime in resenting indignities be- |
fore they reached him
“Building inspectors change,” insin-
uated Allison. “Politics is very uncer- |
tain.”
Four indignant vestrymen jerked |
forward toganswer that insult, |
“Gentlemen, this is a vestry meet. |
ing,” sternly reproved the Rev. Smith |
Boyd, advancing a step, and seeming
to feel the need of a gavel. His rich,
deep barytone explained why he was |
rector of the richest church in the!
world. rr]
Gail's eyes were dancing, but other.
wise she was demureness itself as she
studied. in turns, the members of the |
richest vestry in the world. She esti
mated that eight of the gentlemen |
then present were almost close enough
to the anger line to swear. They num-
bered just eight, and they were most
interesting! And this was a vestry
meeting!
“The topic of debate was money, |
believe,” suggested Rufus Manning,
rescuing his sense of humor from
somewhere in his beard. He was the
infidel member. “Suppose we return
to it. Is Allison's offer worth consid.
ering?” :
“Why?” inquired the nasal voice of
clean-shaven old Joseph G. Cook, who
was sarcastic in money matters. The
Standard Cereal company had attained
fts colossal dimensions through re.
bates; and he had invented the de
WAS 80
money
in |
decrepit
You |
i
the building |
vice! “The only reason we'd sell to
Allison would be that we could get
more money than by the normal re-
turn from our investment.”
“I've allowed two million for the
profit of Market Square church in|
dealing with me,” stated Allison, again
proffering the envelope which no one |
made a move to take. “1 will not pay |
a dollar more.”
W. T. Chisholm was suddenly re-|
minded that the vestry had a moral
obligation in the matter under discus
gion. He was president of the Majes- |
tie Trust company, and never forgot
that fact. |
“To what use would you devote the |
property of Market Square church?” |
he gravely asked.
“The erection of a terminal station |
for all the municipal transportation in
New York,” answered Allison;
ways, elevateds, surface cars, traction |
lines! The proposition should have |
the hearty co-operation of every eitd- |
zen." {
Simple little idea, wasn't it? Gall |
had to think successively to compre- |
hend what a stupendous enterprise
this was: and the man talked about it |
as modestly as if he were planning to
And This Was a Vestry Meeting.
sod a lawn;
{f a man
that, talked
reat of his life: and they
a poet's wreath on his tombstone
“Now you're talking séntiment,” re
torted stubby-mustached Jim Sargent
“You said, a while ago, that you came
here strictly on business. So did we
This is no place for sentiment.”
Rufus Manning, with the tip of his
silvery beard in his fingers, looked up
into the delicate groining of the apse,
it curved gracefully forward
the head of the famous Henri
Dupre’s crucifix, and be grinned. Gall
looking contemplatively
more so! Why,
dreamed
he just
back
a dream 80
about it
put
home, |i
vast as
for the
“You're right,” conceded Allison
“Suppose you fellows talk It]
your best offer.”
“Very well,” assented Jim Sargent,
an indifference which did not
seem to be assumed. “We have some
other matters to discuss, and we may
as well thrash this thing out right
We'll let you know tomorrow.” |
Gall looked at her watch and rose |
energetically.
“1 shall be late at Lucile’s, Uncle
Jim. 1 don't think I can walt for you."
“I'l. be very happy to take Miss
Sargent anywhere she'd like to go,” |
offered Allison, almost Iinstantane
“Much obliged, Allison,” accepted
Sargent heartily; “that ls, if she'll go
“Thank you,” said Gail simply, as
she stepped out of the pew.
The gentlemen of the vestry rose |
as one man. Old Nicholas Van Ploon
even attempted to stand gracefully on
one leg, while his vest bulged over the |
back of the pew in front of him.
“l think we'll have to make you a
“We've been need
Willis Cunningham, the thoughtful
heads of Standard Cereal Clark and
flanker Chisholm.
“We hope to see you often, Miss
Sargent,” was his thoughtful remark
“1 mean to attend services,” re.
turned Gall graciously, looking up into
the organ loft, where the organist was
making his third attempt at that baf-
filing run in the Bach prelude.
“You haven't said how you like our
famous old church,” suggested the
Rev. Smith Boyd with pleasant ease,
though he felt relieved that she was
going.
The sudden snap In Gail's eyes fair
ly scintillated. It was like the shat
tering of fine glass in the sunlight,
nonenfiyronenfyronenlye
“It seems to be a remarkably luera-
tive enterprise,” she smiled up at him,
and was rewarded by a snort from
Manning. Allison frankly guffawed
The balance of the sedate vestry was
struck dumb by the impertinence.
Gall felt the eyes of the Rev. Smith
Boyd fixed steadily on her, and turned
to meet them. They were cold. She
had thought them blue; but now they
were green! She stared back into
them for a moment, and a little red
spot came into the delicate tint of her
oval cheeks; then she turned deliber
ately to the marvelously beautiful big
transept window, It had been de
signed by the most famous stained
glass artist in the world, and its sub- |
It was Christ
turning the money
CHAPTER IL
“Why?
“Snow!” exclaimed Gall in delight,
turning up her face to the delicate |
flakes, “And the sun shining. That |
means snow tomorrow!”
Allison helped her into his big. pi
raticallooking runabout, and tucked
her in as if she were some fragile hot- |
house plant which might freeze with
the first cool draft. i
“The pretty white snow is no friend
mine,” he assured her, as he took
the wheel and headed toward the ave
nue He looked $nlculatingly into the
sky. “This particular downfall is
likely to cost the Municipal Transpor- |
tation company eral thousand
lars.”
“I'm curious know
cial value of a sunset In New York”
Gail smiled at him Allison
sression that under the cover of
WAS |
4
in
of
Bey
dol- |
to the commer |
up
ug
had |
her exquisitely veined lids she
looking at him cornerwise, and hav
a great deal of fun all by herself,
“We haven't capitalized sunsets yet, |
he laughed
ow
A
but we have hopes,~
“Then there's still a commercial op
portunity.” lightly
ite friendly mot
here. [I'v
ince 1 ¢
she returned i
but t's |
heard nothing
ey,
so intimate
elge 8
“Even church
wii delivered a reckless
. Smith Boyd's vestry.”
Well ?™
ask my Of
“1 don’t make the mis |
take again,” and Allifon took the cor
ner {nto the avenue at a speed which |
of
demon |
policeman
had
her
ume, on Monday.”
chuckled
shock
in he
demanded
she
inion?”
th
ia
te
ink he'll
hes
Alllsoh
tall traffic
upraised arm
frank tribute
felt relieve
¢ feeling
class
The
whoase
leeway,
driver
around
circled smiled a
beauty d sh
had cherished son
should be arrested
AF a
they
10
d
that
ant e
they
“However, even a church must
Allison, as
a problem
weighty thought
mere money,”
inal wealth, If
make a million dollars
a church?”
dis
if
to
cuss money,” went
he had just decided
which he had given
“Fifty millions isn?
retorted Gail; "it's crim
no man can
honestly, how can
Allison swerved out into the center
of the avenue ahd passed a red limou- |
sine before he answered i
ticed that everybody in the street!
stared into his car, and it flattered |
him immensely to have 80 pretty a
girl with him :
“The wealth of Market Square |
is natural and normal” he]
explained. “It arises partly from the |
merease in value of property which
was donated when practically worth.
lesa. Judicious investment is respon.
sible for the balance.” i
“Oh, bother!” and Gail glanced at |
impatiently. “Your natural
is wealth; but you know that Market |
Square church never should have had
a surplus to invest. The money should i
have been spent in charity. Why are |
they saving it?” :
Allison began to feel the same re |
spect for Gail's mental processes’
which he would for a man’s, though. |
looked at her with this
she was so thor |
more than ever.
“Market Square church has an am-
he in.
formed her, bringing his runabout toy
rest. with a swift glide, just an accu.
rate three Inches behind the taxi in
tion dollars, It proposes to start build.
ing the most magnificent cathedral on
American sofl.”
“Why?” she pondered. “Will a fifty
million dollar cathedral save souls In
proportion to the amount of money in-
vested?"
Allison enjoyed that query thor
oughly.
“You must ask Rev. Smith Boyd."
he chuckled. “You talk like a hea:
then!”
“Oh, no,” returned Gail gravely, and
with a new tone. “I pray every morn.
ing and every night. and God hears
me.” The note of reverence in her
voles was a thing to which Allison
gave Instant respect. “1 have no
quarrel with religicn. Why, Mr Alls
son, | love the church.” Her eyes
were glowing, the same eyes which
had closed in satirical mischisf, Now
they were rapt. “What a stunning
collie!” she suddenly exclaimed.
Allison, who had followed her with
admiring attention, his mind accom-
panying hers in eager leaps, laughed
fn relief. After all, she was a girl—
and what a girl! The exhilaration of
the drive, and of the snow beating In
her face. and of the animated conver-
sation, Had set the clear skin of her
face aglow with color. Her deep red
lips, exquisitely curved and half part.
ed, displayed a row of dazzling white
teeth, and the elbow which touched
his was magnetic. Allison refused to
believe that he was forty-five!
“You're fond of collies,” he guessed.
surprised to find himself with an ea-
ger Interest in the likes and dislikes
of a young girl. It was a new experi
ence,
“1 adore them!” she enthusiastically
declared. “Back home, | have one of
every marking but a pure white”
There was something tender and
wistful in the tone of that “back
home.” No doubt she had hosts of
friends and admirers there, possibly
a favored suitor. It was quite likely.
A girl such as Gall Bargent could
hardly escape it. If there was a
vored suitor Allison rather pitied him,
for Gail was in the city of strong men
Busy with an entirely new and strange
the park, and Gall uttered an
mation of delight as the
air whipped in her face. The snow
was like a filmy white vell against the
excla-
ing, the lacework of branches,
the turf, still green from the open win
squirrels, clad in
were already scampering
to thelr beds, crossing the busy drive
with the adroitness of accomplished
tails hopping behind them in ungainly
The
pair in the
for the east
runabout
drive at this hour
were
h outward bound ma
rondway was slippery
Steady
of hand! Gai!
of Allison.
motionless in
chines, and the
the 4
new fallen snow, of
alert
easily
the
and yet
f Rure
tensely
¥ a f ling
Perhaps feeling the
turned to
steady gaze, Al
suddenly. and for
a moment the gt ]
ones looked questioningly into each
wped from
Lp the man
ething which
other, the here i
I BBO
a [ull
wished
“8 “ hold
wom Hela
seC0!
d bave
woul
' said
agreed l
r's great,” he with
“Glorious!” she
want to go in”
“Don’t.” he
“That's
gnow-laden
of those
of a listle string of
had owned
and he , 01
ed him fi One
hes of memor)
“us AK
promised
young
However, 1 Cousin
. ‘3 . i
Well at the bouse
her ¥¢
sto} long
enough to tell ure busy,” sug
gested Allison, as eager as a boy
Lot's!" fed Galil, with a
langh + h he | iscarded with his
first busi: i pr fon, Allison threw
another notch of speed, and
Seveuty second
fo the
urning, and half way down the
made a but
bringing the step with
marvelous accuracy to within an inch
of the curb
She flashed at
and
ad d
Minot
mot
out
hirled
from the
entrance up h«
street
avenue
where he swift
“i
fF
moOin
stop,
him a smile and ran
She turned to him again
as she waited for t bell to be an
gwered. and nodded to him with frank
Two
He
vivacious looking
—
Gall Watched the Alert Figure of Al
lison, Tensely Motionless Beside
Her.
women, one tall and black-haired and
the other petite and blonde. and both
fashionably slender and both pretty,
rushed out into the hall and sur
rounded her.
For an instant, Edward E. Allison
hed a glimpse of her, in her garnet
and turquoise, flanked by a sprightly
vision in blue and another sprightly
vision in pink, and he thought he
heard the suppressed sounds of titter
ing; then the door closed, and the lace
curtains of the hall windows pulged
outward, and Gall came tripping down
the steps.
They raced up and into the park.
and around the winding driveways
with the light-hearted exhilaration of
children, and if there was in them at
that moment any trace of mature
thought, they were neither one aware
of it. They were glad that they were
just living, and moving swiftly in the
open alr, glad that it was snowing,
glad that the light was beginning to
fade, that there were other vehicles
in the park, that the world was such
a bright and happy place; and they
were quite pleased, too, to be to
gether.
it was still light, though the electric
lamps were beginning to flare up
through the thin snow vell, when they
rounded a rocky drive, and came in
view of a little lookout house perched
on a hill
“Oh!” called Gall, involuntarily put
ting her hand op his arm. “lI want
to go up there!”
The work of Edward E. Allison was
wellnigh perfection. He stopped the
runabout exactly at the center of the
pathway, and was out and on Call's
side of the car with the agility of a
youngster after a robin's egg He
helped her up the bill with grea!
pleasure, but she was too nimble and
too eager for that, and was in the
him.
When she was quite finished with
not been for the ironlike arm which
threw back to support her. For
his embrace, with his
pon
breast: and, in that instant, the
which had been smoldering in him al
afterncon burst into flame With
sought, though the
which had been
about her His heart sang. as
helped her Into the machine,
sprang in beside He felt a say
age joy In his strength as he started
the car and felt the
hard grip He
than he had ever been in 1
stronger than 1?
3
ne
¥ hat
1}
0
stinctively
trembled
her,
under
younger
3 boyhood :
wheel his
Was Young
strong had ever
worlds
i this
racing through his veins
ddenly thru
been in his youl
might conquer now ®
blood
was as if he had been su
into
dowed with
new
14
i
81
fires of eternal
the
the life,
all vast, irresistible
force of creation!
TO BE CON
REASON FOR HIS BRAGGING
British Soldier Feit He Had to Lie
About His Wonderful Deeds
in the Field.
TINUED)
An
officer was
searching the
tachment to read in
passage that was something like this
“We just got
for the first time for two
has been a hard time. Th
were deter to take ou
we
have
gt
Jus
ery,
them
This
bakers
ument
but,
We killed
was a lett
his
had
. and they had never seer
-
to
been
except as a prisoner
writer well, and
it was
4
nif
is
none
why 1}
poor wife
ough
x o
lies to h
said
“It's true
it's like this, sir
the
place where 1
over in the morning
to let her have n ing to
bragging about
with the
uite what
¥
When ms
wives of tl
think
gay and
all what theh
had
That's the way of It, sir.
Guardian
th
others
men done
Movies Aid Physicians.
sacred field of science.
tothe-minute discovery is the peculiar
value of the movies in diagnosis
was made several weeks ago by
strated first at the world’s congress of
osteopathic physicians, in Portland
Ore... the first week in August
At a meeting of osteopathic physi
cians of the district, held at the home
of Dr. Clara U. Little, Dr. Chester W
of the national association, ex
fur and the movie men were locked in
a room with more than forty insane
eplleptics, waiting to snap just the
right kind of fits. They also had many
harrowing experiences,
Moving pictures, it is predicted, will
revolutionize the teaching of disease
diagnosis, as these subjects can in no
other way be so vividly presented to
the student.
George Evidently Not a Caruso.
Her son had enlisted and she was
a proud old woman as she harangued
a knot of friends on the village street
“Garge always done ‘is duly by me
‘es ‘as, an’ now ‘e's doin’ ‘is duty by
king an’ country,” she said. “1 feel
right down sorry for them Germans
to think of ‘Im goin’ into battle with
4s rifle In ‘is ‘and and ‘It's a Long
Way to Tipperary’ on ‘is lips.” “Poor
Germans, indeed!” exclaimed one of
the audience “Pity’s wasted on ‘em!
P'raps you ‘aven't ‘eard of thelr cruel
ties? “Praps | ‘aven't,” agreed the
old lady “An p'raps you ‘aven't ‘eard
Garge sing.” London Mail,
Where Judge Draws the Line,
Judge Johnson--That | love pub
Heity 1 never will deny, but 1 never
walk from coast to coast to get It
«Atchison Giobe
ATTORNREYS.
Centre Hall, Pa.
DAVID EK. HEELLER, Cashier
@& Discounts Notes .
-
80 YEARS
EXPERIENCE
Trae Manus
Demons
CorvrianTs Sa
Anvone sending s sketch ang deagr”! 0S
ol ae
glokly ssoeriain our estnion free w
venlion is probally Labia Companies
ons striot] y confidential. Handbook on
ancy or seonring
Patents taken
ro Munn
without i= ie
"Scientific American,
A handsoss ev (lostrated weekly. jaren gu
mistion of any selentifie journal rma ®
ress ; four months, §L hoa py all mew
MUNN & Co,2e sores. New York
Pruner © Man M98
Ehatars Cosaperin
THE BEST IS THE
Meamasy to Lean en Ties
Mortgage
Stone Building
NTE PA.
Office ts
H. @. STROHNEIER,
CENTRE MALL, . . . .
_Manufacturerief
and Dealer in
HIGH GRADE ...
MONUMENTAL Wow)
in all kinde of
Marble am
Granits, = fue umm.
EN a a
BOALSSURG TAVERN
anos EoUR Pav Flturen
This weli-known
modate ali § .
SU pop medete he tmting
OLD PORT MOTEL
Losstion | ue mie South of Ownove Mall
dE EEE
or
DR. SOL. M. NISSLEY,
YRETERINARY SURORON.
A groduste of the University of Poeun’
Offices ot Palace Livery Stable, Belle
nL hn,